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I’m already in the holiday mood, Pandas, and I hope you are, too. I’ve been listening to Christmas songs at work and I’ve been polishing my rusty cookie baking skills (so far, it’s all gone disastrously wrong). But! Most importantly, I’ve already started searching for gifts for all of my loved ones. It’s far from easy to be original every year and sometimes we simply mess up. And the internet has proof of this.
Internet users have taken to the r/AskReddit online community to share the very worst gifts they’ve ever gotten. There are more than a few twists and turns in their tales, however. Take a break from school or work, grab yourselves a big mug of tea and some snacks, and let’s dive deep into the world of horrendous gifts, dear Readers. As you’re scrolling down, don’t forget to upvote the stories that took you by surprise. And if you’re feeling up to it, why not open up about the very worst presents you’ve ever given or received in the comments?
I also reached out to author and child independence expert Lenore Skenazy for a few comments about gift-giving and the burden we face as the holiday season comes every year. Scroll down to read what she told Bored Panda. Spoiler warning: we shouldn’t focus so much on the gifts themselves, nor about trying to be ‘perfect’ but about the holiday spirit and being genuine!
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#1
When I was 8, I told my gran that I liked jeeps. So every year, for Christmas I got a crappier jeep. The first year was a model. Ok I like models I put it together it was fun. Next year was a remote. Then a matchbox. and so on. When I was 15 she gave me a jeep calendar. I love my gran so I hung the calendar and told her I loved it.
On my 16th Christmas, she gives me a key ring that says Jeep. UGH. Then asks me to go out and get some preserves from the barn. In the barn was a brand new 86 jeep! Gran plays the long game.
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#2
Growing up I used to hate that my uncle would get all of us kids the same $1 pair of cheap one size fits all gloves. I clearly remember thinking how I'd really rather just have the dollar, and yet he never failed to get them for us. It was always the last gift my cousins and I would open... Thanks uncle Craig.
Craig was developmentally disabled, and although he was well into his 30's when we were kids he would come out into the street and play baseball with us, he'd ride bikes across town with us, buy us beer and nudey mags when we were older... And yet every year, these damn gloves even when we were grown adults and his health was fading, and we all moved away. This will be Christmas number 3 without Uncle Craig, and as I look back at it now it makes more sense. He was living in a shack that he was renting for $350 a month there were 15 nieces and nephews... We knew he couldn't afford to get us any toys or anything, but he wanted us to have something more meaningful than a dollar bill, and Christmas was his favorite holiday.
RIP Uncle Craig. I wish there was a poorly wrapped pair of gloves under my tree this year.
#3
Ex boyfriend gave me a pack of cigarettes after I had quit for 3 months to "celebrate my progress".
Most memorable thing he gave me was clamydia though.
Lenore, the president of Let Grow, a nonprofit that promotes childhood independence and resilience, and the founder of the Free-Range Kids movement, told Bored Panda all about how we can ease the burden of the holiday season. In her view, all we have to do is turn on the power of our imagination.
“To ease the burden of the holiday season, think about two possible scenarios,” she said.
#4
I met my wife in january of 2010. For her birthday in July I bought her a crockpot. She was .....appreciative, but later had told me she was upset. Her sister told her to break up with me cause what kind of guy buys his new girlfriend kitchen appliances.
About 2 months later she finds a recipe she wants to try and busts out the crockpot. Inside it she finds a smaller gift. It was a brand new ipod touch.
She was pissed.
#5
It was nothing. My in-laws bring gifts for my husband but not me because I'm not "real family".
#6
My wife used to give me things that were intended for herself.
This was a win-win for her and a lose-lose for me. She could give me something, then get mad at me for being unappreciative. One time, she gave me a frilly picture frame, thinking I would never use it. I thanked her and took it to work.
The expert then went into detail about the two scenarios we should think about and compare in our minds.
“In one, you are invited to a party at a very fancy home. Everything is perfect, clean, expensive. Everyone there is on their best behavior. No one shouts, runs, slips, yells, spills, eats too much, or bursts into song. They can’t wait to go home and take off their too-tight shoes,” she went into detail.
#7
About 10 years ago my uncle was giving out Christmas gifts to everyone in the family. He's mentally handicapped but he makes sure to go to the dollar store to buy everyone something, typically mugs. Now my uncle doesn't really put much thought into who gets what mug. He just wraps the mug and puts someone's name on it. Sometimes people get multiple mugs and other times you get none because he doesn't keep track of who has already been assigned a mug. Well my cousin was married to a Muslim (it's relevant, I promise) and her gift was a mug that said, "Jesus loves you." It was the only religious themed mug out of probably 50 and she got it. The entire family was laughing, including her. She thought it was great.
#8
I'm asian. My secret santa gave me a box of instant rice. I wasn't offended by the rice. I was offended that it was the instant kind.
#9
I’m gonna speak on my husbands behalf here. We don’t speak to his family or see them at all, there’s a history of abuse and just a lot of toxicity so we cut them out of our lives. It’s been almost 3 years of radio silence, which is amazing and it was absolutely the right choice for us. Whelp, unfortunately my husbands parents live in the same city as us and they know where we go to church. So this year, on my husband’s birthday, my MIL dropped off a gift at our church for him because she doesn’t know where we live and can’t contact us any other way.
The gift was the DVD of the movie I Can Only Imagine. If you’re not familiar with the premise of the movie, let me fill you in. It’s about a man who was abused by his father as a boy. He leaves home and stops having a relationship with his dad. Years go by and the man decides to reconcile and rebuild a relationship with his dad, who was previously abusive but because he found God, he isn’t anymore.
It was really f**ked up to get that movie from someone who manipulated and abused my husband until his early twenties. So that gift absolutely takes the cake. And in the event MIL or the family finds this comment and reads it (though I doubt they use reddit), the only thing I’ll say directly to you in 3 years is “Shame on you.”
Dina Simoné 3 years ago
Its very common of abusive people to demand forgiveness from the victim without apologizing or even acknowledging the pain they caused. Gaslighting the victim and not taking any responsibilty for their past behaviour just shows that they are not capable of true change. Good for u that u cut them out.
Lenore then painted us a word picture about a different sort of party. One that’s more genuine, heart-warming, full of good times with loved ones.
“Now imagine you’re invited to another party the next week. The house is kind of messy and some of the food looks like leftovers. Someone’s playing the piano and people are singing. Someone else is showing the little kids a magic trick. Someone in the kitchen is making hot cider and the dog is sniffing everyone in a slightly embarrassing way.”
#10
My sister received a brand new bike.....on MY birthday. My grandmother felt bad, so on her birthday she got me an Encyclopedia
#11
It wasn’t really the gift itself, but what my dad said after I opened it.
It was one of those ninja blenders that a lot of people starting using instead of juicers. I was 16 when my dad gave the blender to me, even though I had never expressed any interest in wanting or needing one.
After I opened it, he said he chose this gift because he wanted me to live a healthier lifestyle and hopefully lose a few pounds.
At the time, I was taking ballet classes 5 days a week, and I often performed with my dance troupe on the weekends, so I was pretty fit at the time.
It didn’t help that he said this in front of his entire side of the family.
#12
My extremely cheap uncle visited my family once for christmas and upon his arrival he gave me and my brother the chips that he had gotten on the airplane. This man is a Neurosurgeon.
She continued: “The teens are rolling their eyes in the corner, Grandma is repeating that joke she tells every year, and uncles are one-upping each other with stories about the times they had to sneak into the house after curfew. Which party is more fun for everyone? The one that gets people together with a chance to be themselves and feel unself-conscious.”
According to Lenore, it isn’t expensive and fancy things that we need. In fact, we can have an amazing holiday without them if we focus on our family and learn to relax instead of chasing the ‘perfect’ way to celebrate.
#13
Nothing. One year my very well off (we're talking millionaires) aunt and uncle got everyone in the family a gift except for me because suddenly, since I was 20, I was "too old" for gifts. But all the other aunts and uncles got gifts, so it wasn't just me being singled out among the many cousins, but among EVERYONE. If they were not absolutely loaded and they had also not given anything to the other 18+ people I might have understood. But they didn't.
As an already very stressed out, poor (parents were lower class) college student it really upset me. I spent most of the celebration crying in the bathroom and trying to hide it.
Whatshername 3 years ago (edited)
This is so painful! Had something similar happen to me when brother and sister in law were about to become parents. My boyfriend (of 10+ years then and we were living together) and parents in law all got a present because they would become uncle and grandparents. I got nothing. Because we weren't married. And whenever we visited them they would exclaim excitedly "hey there's uncle whatshisname!" I would add ".. and aunt whatshername" myself. Joke's on me though. My then boyfriend and I are happily married (+kids) and her side of the family (that got gifts too) fell apart in the years after.
#14
My mother in-law have my wife and I a book about surviving infidelity. Neither of us have ever cheated on the other in 20 years of marriage. Merry Christmas.
#15
An ashtray. I was 7 years old. I didn't smoke then, and I don't smoke now.
“People might think you need fancy food, gifts, clothes to have a truly wonderful holiday. But really all you need are people you love (and a few who drive you crazy), some food, and some time together. Don’t stress about spending money and time making things perfect. Use that time to connect with each other instead. That’s a holiday everyone will appreciate—including you!”
#16
When I was a little kid (going back about 25 years) I cut the legs off a pair of sweatpants and gave them to my dad for Christmas as "leg warmers." No clue where I came up with the idea. Found out a few years ago he still has them and it still cracks him up whenever he sees them.
Brunettechameleon 3 years ago
Aww that’s kind of cute. I don’t think that’s a bad present at all, considering you were young.
#17
As a small child I got a water bottle and a helmet for Christmas and nothing else. I was totally pissed because I thought my mom just thought I was extra special and needed a helmet to not hurt myself while running around and that I was especially underhydrated. Turns out I had actually gotten a bicycle for Christmas but all of my presents were stolen except for the helmet and water bottle. The worst gift I received wasn't those presents, it was the knowledge that the world is a cruel and uncaring place.
cybermerlin2000 3 years ago
It probably broke your poor mothers heart when you opened those presents knowing she bought you a bike that you would never see
#18
My husband received his recently deceased grandfather's used disposable razor as a Christmas gift from his grandmother. Complete with hair and all.
#19
A box of Hillshire Farms sausages from my wife's grandparents. I'm a vegetarian, they had known me for 10 years at this point.
#21
When I was twelve my grandmother gave me a one-foot tall statue of a frog playing the flute for Christmas. She gave my brother bananas and a granola bar.
#22
I got a spray that you use against foot-odour by my Sister last christmas, she had packed in a box for a power tool I wanted so I went from excited to dissapointed.
She got a quite expensive set of fancy soaps and body products + a gift card from me.
Apparently she gave the power tool to some friend and gave me the box.
#24
I was in 7th grade and dating my first ever boyfriend. He lived in the next town over (about 20 min to drive). His friends were dating my friends (there were several of us girls all dating these cooler out of town boys.)
We spent our Christmas gift giving night at the bowling alley and took turns making out in the alleyway behind the bowling alley. It was my first kiss and I was awful. Like open mouth shark breaching for a seal.
That's another story-we each received a gift. They had group picked out necklaces to match our personalities. Sarah got the one with a sports pendant, long chain to match her long hair. Elizabeth got the dainty chain and tiny heart with a jewel, because she was girly and dainty. Leah got the cross with a jewel, because she was religious and it was her favorite color. I got the fake gold biker chain with nothing on it, because it was "manly like you are." So my friends all got cute little dainty necklaces and I got the equivalent of a something you'd see around the neck of a man with a hairy chest that is trying to sell you stereos that his brother got at a cheap price.
#25
Had a friend that received a gift from another friend of ours. It was a McDonald’s gift card. When he went to use it there was nothing on it.
Brunettechameleon 3 years ago
I swear all these gifts sound like they were random things people found in a panic because they forgot to buy an actual present. That’s why I have a stash of random things to give to people in case I forget.
#26
My sister got me a rat as a gift. I'm f**king terrified of rats but I decided to let it be and see if it helped curb my fear of them. It did not.
Instead, while I was sleeping it got out of it's cage, crawled up on my bed, and started chewing on my lip. Didn't sleep for a week after that. Thoughtful gift in the sense she was trying to help but dear God it made my fear so much worse.
Katie Lutesinger 3 years ago
As a rat owner, this makes me so angry. For one thing rats should be kept in pairs at the very least because they're social animals and become depressed if they don't have a friend, and for another - don't give a pet rat to someone who hates rats! It's unfair and cruel to both of them! I hope this person re-homed the poor thing.
#27
My aunt gifted me a snowscraper for my car. When I opened it she said "I bet you don't have one of those! "
I was 21, living in northern Midwest and driving everyday. Including that day, which had 4" of snow.
I gave it away to some fool clearing his widow with a credit card a few weeks later.
#28
I got a half of a box of chocolates for my birthday one year. Yep - I opened it and half of them had been eaten already. It wasn't from a child - it was from adult family members. The reasoning was that they knew I would share them when I opened them, but I was away on a business trip on my actual birthday and they couldn't wait to eat some.
Foxxy (The Original) 3 years ago (edited)
Haha, sorry to laugh but one year my middle brother and I gave my younger brother a completely empty box of chocolates with a note saying "here hold this". We did that coz my younger brother is a cheeky bugger. He would say "here hold this" and put something in our hand or arm, like a takeaway coffee cup, bag of lollies etc. And then he would walk away. He gave us his rubbish lol. We did get him a real present too.
#29
First Christmas with my husband of three months, my mother decides to make everyone underwear and boxers. Weird as is. The boxers showed total disregard for male anatomy (things didn’t line up) and the girls’ underwear were all way too big. She wanted to fix them, and asked us for a pair of underwear to fit correctly to go off of. It’s my favorite ‘my family is weird’ story.
#30
A bunch of random tools from my wife. Not tools I needed. Not tools I asked for. Not tools I could use for my hobbies. Just random tools she picked out from Lowes because "Guys like tools".
#31
I got a Game Boy. The original. The year it came out. I was, as you could imagine, thrilled, especially as it came from my older brother, who wasn’t always particularly nice to me. I was absolutely horrified and instantly hysterical when I opened the sealed box and it was filled with D batteries, thinking it was another “prank.”
Turns out someone had bought it, stolen it, re-wrapped it, and returned it to Walmart for someone else to buy. Fortunately, they replaced it. I am still emotionally scarred.
#32
My ex gifted me tickets to a big country music concert for some goofy relationship milestone (like 5 months?). I reminded him that I don’t like country music and he said, “Well, I do and I already bought the tickets so we’re gonna go so the money isn’t wasted.”
That was a dumb relationship.
#33
My husband gave me a $10 keychain on my birthday this week. It was in a box that definitely looked like jewelry. Nope, keychain.
Foxxy (The Original) 3 years ago
Eek, I just bought keyrings for my family. A bit more personal though. I have ordered 2 dog tag style keyrings that have a photo of my mum and her partner, one for each of them. And I have ordered 2 one for my brother with a pic of his dog and one for my dad with a photo of his dog that passed away. I hope they are received well and don't end up on a list like this lol.
#34
A 1kg box of dried milk for babies from my uncle
We don't have any kids and they knew.........
#35
Foundation (as in makeup) from my husband. Turns out he went to Sephora, pointed at a colour and said “that looks about right” (with his FEMALE friend who ALSO wears makeup AGREEING) and bought it for me!
I am a pasty white girl. Like I’m always the lightest shade, and sometimes the lightest shade is too dark.
The colour they picked was from the middle-to-end range. Like for a black person.
I laughed so hard I almost peed and we (and the female friend) still laugh about it years later!
#36
A girl I dated for two years got me a blue Powerade for my birthday because “you like blue Powerade”. I don’t even drink Powerade. Plus it wasn’t even a big bottle, it was one of the smaller ones that come in the packs. That was the end of that relationship
#37
My parents renovated my bathroom at their house. It was a “surprise”. Thing is, I didn’t live at home anymore - I had been living in a different state for 4 years. I was visiting for Christmas with my fiancé. Bathroom is connected to my room and everyday for the five days we were visiting we were woken up at 8am and had to leave so the construction guys could work. When I sort of complained about being woken up she called me ungrateful and screamed at me. We didn’t speak for four months.
#38
For Christmas, my aunt (Aunt 1) gave me and my sister liquid soap that had already solidified. She's known for being "thrifty" and re-giving old gifts.
Aunt 2 gave Aunt 1's son a shirt for his birthday. After a few years, Aunt 1 gifted the shirt to Aunt 2's son.
Brunettechameleon 3 years ago (edited)
That’s not being thrifty. That’s just disgusting. Might as well not have given them anything
#39
My mother and her friend came to stay with me last year for Christmas and I got them both standard stuff like scarves and bath bombs and stuff.
My mom’s friend got me one gift, which I opened on Christmas morning - it was a package of ground espresso, which I don’t like. I was nice about it and said thank you and then put it in my cabinet and went about celebrating the holiday.
The next day I woke up late and went to go make coffee - she had opened the espresso and made it for herself! I remain deeply offended.
#40
Worst gift I ever got was last year from a friend from school. I was 3 weeks post partum with my first kid and in a motel alone for Christmas and she came by with a bunch of JuicePlus tablets and an ItWorks wraps. Then she told me since I’m “doing nothing” I could help her sell it. I was cordial at the time but afterwards I thought it was pretty s**tty thing to do
What do you think ?
Patti Vance 3 years ago
mom was a single mom with three kids, no child support, and working two jobs. so, needless to say, money was always tight. no allowances but she would try to do little things for each of us once a month. come mother's day i found an old tarnished copper tray in a dumpster. i took it, polished it and gave it to her. (i was about 8) she oohed & aahed over it. then, when i was in my 30s i saw it in her china cupboard & asked her why she still had that. it was then she told me that she had seen me take it from the dumpster & didn't know why until i gave it to her. said it was something very precious to her because i wanted to give her something on that day. mom was great. miss you.
Andy Acceber 3 years ago
My parents used to guilt me into doing things with presents. Growing up, I was a happily introverted homebody. They gifted me a gym membership because they thought I didn't exercise enough and required me to go. Another year, they signed me up in a weekly class as a gift because they thought I didn't have enough friends. (I was perfectly happy. They were just extroverts, and I wasn't.) They meant well but just didn't understand me, and of course, I was polite and wouldn't disrespect their gifts. I flipped the script recently though. My mom has been teetering on retirement for years and keeps finding excuses not to retire. For her birthday this year, I gifted her a retirement countdown calendar. It is 100% peer pressure in the form of a present -- and it's working. She's agreed to retire in December.
Andy Acceber 3 years ago
My brother once stole something from me, wrapped it, and gave it back to me. He was roughly 13 at the time. Old enough to know better, imo.
Bobbie Meyers 3 years ago
Yeah, one time, a sister stole one of my prized books, left it by the pool to get all oogie, then gives me a new one, same title, for my BDay...!!!
Load More Replies... Patti Vance 3 years ago
mom was a single mom with three kids, no child support, and working two jobs. so, needless to say, money was always tight. no allowances but she would try to do little things for each of us once a month. come mother's day i found an old tarnished copper tray in a dumpster. i took it, polished it and gave it to her. (i was about 8) she oohed & aahed over it. then, when i was in my 30s i saw it in her china cupboard & asked her why she still had that. it was then she told me that she had seen me take it from the dumpster & didn't know why until i gave it to her. said it was something very precious to her because i wanted to give her something on that day. mom was great. miss you.
Andy Acceber 3 years ago
My parents used to guilt me into doing things with presents. Growing up, I was a happily introverted homebody. They gifted me a gym membership because they thought I didn't exercise enough and required me to go. Another year, they signed me up in a weekly class as a gift because they thought I didn't have enough friends. (I was perfectly happy. They were just extroverts, and I wasn't.) They meant well but just didn't understand me, and of course, I was polite and wouldn't disrespect their gifts. I flipped the script recently though. My mom has been teetering on retirement for years and keeps finding excuses not to retire. For her birthday this year, I gifted her a retirement countdown calendar. It is 100% peer pressure in the form of a present -- and it's working. She's agreed to retire in December.
Andy Acceber 3 years ago
My brother once stole something from me, wrapped it, and gave it back to me. He was roughly 13 at the time. Old enough to know better, imo.
Bobbie Meyers 3 years ago
Yeah, one time, a sister stole one of my prized books, left it by the pool to get all oogie, then gives me a new one, same title, for my BDay...!!!
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